"I see zink pest being bad two ways
1) Nice things get it and crumble. This is what we are mostly discussing here.
2) If it not for 1 above these zinc alloys would be very attractive for home casting. They melt at manageable temperatures, are machinable and reasonably strong. They are usable for small lathes for example. Just think how nice it would be to have a low temperature casting alloy that was not prone to zinc pest. Build a small engine out of pewter, anyone?"
Zinc/aluminum alloys from reputable suppliers can be used today as machine tool parts.? They are comparable in weight and strength to cast iron but melt at a lower temperature than aluminum - ZA12 and ZA27 come to mind.? Zinc alloys CAN be alloyed in home foundries, but you have to watch out that you don't contaminate the melt with unwanted materials.? And you definitely do not want use any crucibles/tools that have been used for lead.? In the early days, a few % of lead was added to the zinc alloy to improve the flowability for die casting.? Casts like a dream, but turns into the nightmare of zinc pest.
